obama's America

6 cities to train mail carriers to dispense anti-terror drugs

In 2008, the Bush administration issued an emergency order allowing the Food and Drug Administration to approve advance distribution of antibiotics to letter carriers who volunteer for the program and their families so that they would be protected from exposure to anything they encounter on their rounds.

•In December 2009, Obama issued an executive order to jump-start the process. It gave federal agencies 180 days to develop a Postal Service model that could be replicated around the country. It also required the government to meet a demand from the Postal Service: that workers delivering the drugs be accompanied by law enforcement officers to protect them from panicked and potentially violent crowds.

Now, "we're fine if they (terrorists) attack Minneapolis," says James Talent, former vice chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission. The Postal Service has "proven they can do it."

With a model in place, the White House says it is working to expand the voluntary program to cities across the country.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-08-02-postal02_ST_N.htm